Business directory database Websites, such as the YellowPages.com (YPC) Website, have brought the basic concept of traditional bound business directories into the Internet/WWW age while improving ease of use and functionality. The YPC can trace its history to 1996, when an independent publisher and two telecommunications companies (SBC and BellSouth) each launched their own online directories. They continued to operate separately until November 2004, when SBC and BellSouth entered into a partnership to create the Internet Yellow Pages joint venture, acquiring the online directory publisher then known as WWW.Yellowpages.com, Inc. The three separate sites were combined into one site called YellowPages.com. YPC offers searchable directory listings, and has capabilities to provide information on products/services provided, specialty, brands, payment options, languages spoken, certification & affiliation, coupons & deals, and user reviews. Also, when a user registers with YPC, addresses of interest, recent searches and recently viewed listings can be saved for future reference. Additionally, search information, maps and driving directions can be saved, emailed or sent by text message to a device capable of receiving this type of message.
Customers who search business listings directly are typically looking for a particular type of good or service, and are ready to purchase. The traditional bound business directories are by their nature published periodically (typically annually) and therefore not able to be changed once issued. It is very frustrating for consumers to call or worse travel to a listed business location only to find out they are no longer there or have changed their hours, and then have to start their search all over again. This is not a limitation of the YPC, as it is a live business directory database which is updated continuously as business or other conditions change.
Web and Internet based business directory databases (BDBs), such as The YellowPages.com (or similar), contain a large number of business names, addresses and phone numbers. Only a small fraction of listings contain other frequently requested information such as the URL or domain name or business Internet address, email contact address or hours of operation. Not having a means whereby desired information is readily available or retrievable can leave consumers frustrated and possibly drive them to support those businesses that provide this information in anticipation of the request.
The terms “URL” and “domain name” are frequently used interchangeably. While related, the terms have slightly different meanings. For example, the domain name WWW.example.net corresponds to a domain that includes the URL http://www.example.net/index.html. For future reference herein, the terms URL, domain name and business internet address will all be used interchangeably.
In general terms as used in the present application, a database stores records containing data or elements with defined relationships between the data elements. For example, the following items are all individual data elements within a record in a database: Ace Food Mart, 123 Main Street, Schenectady, N.Y., USA, 12345, 555-555-5555, WWW.Acemart.com. In this case, the defined relationship between data elements is that they collectively represent one business with the following correlation: Business name, street address, city, state, country, zip code, phone number, domain name. Frequently, individual data elements or data fields within a database are augmented. For future reference herein, the terms augment, enrich, modify, change, add and delete may all be used interchangeably, indicating that something, individual data elements or an entire group of elements representing an individual business, has been changed (i.e. address change), added (i.e. new business opens) or deleted (i.e. business closed).
The Internet Corporation for Assignment Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the assignment of domain names and IP addresses. This is facilitated through accredited domain registrars, including GoDaddy.com who register directly and Google.com who register indirectly through subcontractors. The registrant on the application for the domain name, a person or entity, is the licensee (effectively the owner) of the domain name. The administrative contact is the person designated to receive communications from the registrar related to administration of the domain name. The billing contact is the person designated to receive notices from the registrar concerning renewing the domain name by paying the registration fee. The technical contact is the person designated to receive communications related to technical matters associated with the domain name. Any person or entity named as a contact (administrative, billing or technical) has the power to adversely affect the domain name. For future reference herein, a URL or domain name is “sponsored” by an entity when the registrant and designated contacts of the URL or domain name are responsible for and engaged (either directly or indirectly) in the ongoing activities of the entity (business, non-profit, interest group, government, research institute, and the like).
Businesses that market through the YPC listing could benefit from providing users access to a validated and enriched business directory database (BDB) by:                (1) reduced traffic to their Website, where the same information is repeatedly searched for and retrieved;        (2) reduced call traffic to a switchboard or a call center to field the information requests;        (3) improved perception of the business in the mind of the customer as the business has anticipated frequently requested information and furnished it prior to asking; and        (4) increased revenue as more customers potentially do business with a firm which has anticipated frequently requested information and provided it from a trusted source.Additionally, the provider of the Web and Internet-based business directory databases, such as The YellowPages.com (or similar) may be able to command a premium listing fee from the businesses listing in their database for all the above mentioned reasons.        
It would therefore be desirable to augment the information contained in a record of a Business Directory Database and provide it to customers as they are viewing an Internet or Web-based BDB. For example, it would be desirable to provide a URL (business Internet address), hours of operation, product offerings and other information in the record. It would furthermore be advantageous to present that information as part of a listing in a validated and enriched database.